New York City mayor and former Democratic presidential candidate, Bill de Blasio, has endorsed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in the 2020 US elections, Sanders’ press office said in a statement.
De Blasio plans to join the Senator at his rallies across the state of Nevada on Sunday and Monday. The move comes shortly after Sanders’ victory in the New Hampshire primary and hairsplitting second place finish in the Iowa caucus.
“I am standing with Bernie because he stands with working families, and always has,” the mayor said. “New Yorkers know all too well the damage caused by Donald Trump’s xenophobia, bigotry and recklessness, and Bernie is the candidate to take him on and take him down”.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has now officially endorsed Bernie Sanders for president.
— Daniel Marans (@danielmarans) February 14, 2020
In a statement, he makes the case for Bernie's electability vis-a-vis Trump.
“Bernie is the candidate to take him on and take him down." pic.twitter.com/9twRN7vbYv
De Blasio noted his pride in endorsing Sanders, pointing out that the Vermont Senator has “for decades” worked toward the same “progressive agenda” as has the mayor.
The big city mayor supported Hillary Clinton against Sanders in the 2016 presidential election, but in 2019 asserted his belief that the Vermont Senator could have won that race if he had been nominated.
Sanders said in the statement acknowledging de Blasio's support, that “the only way we can defeat [US President] Donald Trump is by uniting people from different backgrounds around an agenda that speaks to the needs of working families”.
“So proud to have the support of a New York City Mayor fighting every day to improve the lives of New Yorkers. Bill is a leading example of what bringing the Democratic Party together around so-called ‘radical ideas’ like universal pre-K, paid family and sick leave, and defending our immigrant neighbors can do for our country,” Sanders stated.
On Tuesday, Sanders won New Hampshire’s primary, securing 26 percent of the vote. The Senator is also leading the field in several pre-vote polls in Nevada caucuses that will be held on 22 February.
